Guide me through some vehicular neglect err.. determine the cost benefit of repairs

Just had my sienna at the dealership for an oil change, it's near work and I had a coupon.. don't hate

The van is a 2004 Sienna with 179K miles on it. Runs good and is relatively reliable. The trans does some minor weird things, but never has hinted at failing and generally is very solid with no noises whatsoever. I am a about $5k into the van over 2.5 years and am not interested in dumping tons of cash into it. The electric doors have already failed, not looking to replace them.

Items the dealership says I need:

1. Reseal Trans Case: They say the trans is leaking and they need to crack the case to fix. 1st tech said case for $2K, 2nd tech said pan gasket. I think it's a pan gasket leak. If it's just the pan I'll fix or have my independent do it.

2. Power steering rack leak: Never seen this before. Seems like a common issue on Siennas. Should I ignore or just top up. Throw in Stop leak?

3. Timing Belt: Fair enough. It's time. Though their price of $1060 was laughable. I got an independant that will do for $700.

Now here's the big question. How much do I(noting I have no garage and would be borrowing space and tools), have my independent do or just flat out ignore? Overall the van is very reliable, we just took it to canada this summer and scaled some high-ish mountain passes with relative ease. We are looking for replacement with a new-ish KIA or Toyota or chryslerco in the next year or so.

What do you say? Our Rav4 is newer, in better shape, and can cart the family if needed. It's just not as comfortable or convienent

You can try stop-leak in the PS system, it should buy you some time, but eventually you'll have to replace the rack or maybe do a proper rebuild (risky, sometimes doesn't work).

Losing fluid could ruin the pump or lead to nasty ATF fire if that's what your system uses.

Get the timing belt and trans. pan gasket done by your independent guy.

If it were me I'd list those leaks as known issues and sell as is. How bad are said leaks?

I presume that thing has an Aisan Warner box, and it has no pan. No way of cheaply fixing a leak in the parting line of the case. Drain, flush and fill might help the odd shifting stuff, but its very common for the valve bodies in those transmissions to wear, causing sticky things and harsh/delayed/odd shifts.

Do the T belt, along with all the rotating stuff.

If you haven't had to add fluid to the power steering, it can't be leaking too badly. Buy a liter of fluid and top up as required until it demands you fix it.

GameboyRMH wrote: You can try stop-leak in the PS system, it should buy you some time, but eventually you'll have to replace the rack or maybe do a proper rebuild (risky, sometimes doesn't work). Losing fluid could ruin the pump or lead to nasty ATF fire if that's what your system uses. Get the timing belt and trans. pan gasket done by your independent guy.

The rack is an ass pain. IT's a $1200 part at the dealer and $300 ish on the market. I also don't want to crawl underneath a van that has spent it's life between Pittsburg and CT. If it was a northwest van, I'd do it in a second.

Here is this to help your decision process

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6yhVwx6P6c

clutchsmoke wrote: If it were me I'd list those leaks as known issues and sell as is. How bad are said leaks?

not bad.

Streetwiseguy wrote: I presume that thing has an Aisan Warner box, and it has no pan. No way of cheaply fixing a leak in the parting line of the case. Drain, flush and fill might help the odd shifting stuff, but its very common for the valve bodies in those transmissions to wear, causing sticky things and harsh/delayed/odd shifts.

I had an independent shop do this in CT for me, about 30K miles and 2.5 years ago. It did make some interesting noises after the fill, but I it has settled down and is having less harsh/delay issues. Any worry in just topping it up?

singleslammer wrote: Here is this to help your decision process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6yhVwx6P6c

What an ass pain... And his looked spotless.. The years up in CT and PA have added some rusticles to those bolts on that van.

Also.. I hate working on daily drivers.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine:

That suggests to me you'll either be selling it or pay someone to work on it.

I'm with you though, I don't as a rule work on our daily drivers either.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Also.. I hate working on daily drivers.

So say most of us! It seems much easier to do the same project on your fun ride than on your appliance ride.

Rupert wrote:

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Also.. I hate working on daily drivers.

So say most of us! It seems much easier to do the same project on your fun ride than on your appliance ride.

Agree. I'm not above an oil change, air filter etc.. every once in a while. I just did hatch struts on the van. I just want the thing to work on my daily commute. If I had a fun car, It would be "OK" if it sat on jack stands for weeks at a time.

Personally, assuming sale in a year or less, and the leaks being relatively minor with fluid top ups only needed once in a while, I wouldn't do any of it. At 175k, The water pump/timing belt has already been done once right? If you pound another 15k mikes on it i doubt the belt will fail, and its a non-interferance engine anyway. save the cash, knock 500$ off your sale price in a year for repairs for the new owner and be done.

It sounds like you should sell the van as is or trade it in for a 3-5 year old van or other DD.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: I presume that thing has an Aisan Warner box, and it has no pan. No way of cheaply fixing a leak in the parting line of the case. Drain, flush and fill might help the odd shifting stuff, but its very common for the valve bodies in those transmissions to wear, causing sticky things and harsh/delayed/odd shifts.

I had an independent shop do this in CT for me, about 30K miles and 2.5 years ago. It did make some interesting noises after the fill, but I it has settled down and is having less harsh/delay issues. Any worry in just topping it up?

Just keep it topped up. Those things want a magic fluid, but I've never been absolutely convinced they need more than a good synthetic Dexron.

For the PS leak: if it uses ATF try topping it up with brake fluid. When I worked on Leak Rovers, er, LAND Rovers, a top up with brake fluid would swell the leaking lines and seals enough to slow a gusher into a trickle. Not a permanent fix, but if you're selling anyway it might buy you some time.

Or it could cause a catastrophic failure, but so could any other snake oil you dump in there. YMMV.

Don't do anything - get rid of it as soon as you feel comfortable doing so. That trans is an unserviceable time bomb at this point, albeit one with a pretty slow fuse. Unless you like the van so much that you're willing sink $2-3k into a new transmission when it goes, then get rid of it first.

I finally dug the report up from the tech..

1. Head Gasket Leaking Level 1
2. Transmission Pan leaking Level 2 (Does this thing have a pan?)
3. Recommend steering rack.

Can someone translate the level piece?

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: Can someone translate the level piece?

The level was left on there by mistake. It's a code for how much bullE36 M3 is involved in the estimate. The head gasket is sorta bullE36 M3, since the car does indeed have one. The pan leak is one level up because there is in reality no pan on that vehicle. Level 10 is selling a BMW style full cooling system replacement including radiator, hoses, water pump, etc......on a Karmann Ghia.

Is it leaving puddles on the pavement? No? Just drive it.(monitor fluid levels of course)

Yes? attention is needed.

If the trans leak is from the case halves, you can try to seal it from the outside.

Drain the fluid and clean the case. Let sit overnight. Clean again and apply a thick coat of Right Stuff to the seam. Do the whole thing, not just the bit at the bottom. Let it cure for a few hours, even over night if you have time. Refill. You could be cheap'n'cheaty by reusing the fluid.

^^^ that

Do the timing belt, then park where you can see the drips. When they become trickles... do something about it or get a different van. Otherwise, carry fluids, top up at fuel stops and keep on rolling.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Is it leaving puddles on the pavement? No? Just drive it.(monitor fluid levels of course) Yes? attention is needed. If the trans leak is from the case halves, you can try to seal it from the outside. Drain the fluid and clean the case. Let sit overnight. Clean again and apply a thick coat of Right Stuff to the seam. Do the whole thing, not just the bit at the bottom. Let it cure for a few hours, even over night if you have time. Refill. You could be cheap'n'cheaty by reusing the fluid.

This, but I would use JB weld.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Is it leaving puddles on the pavement? No? Just drive it.(monitor fluid levels of course)

/Thread That's what I plan on doing for the next year.

Necro bump

The van has 184K miles on it now, after my bonus check cleared and I paid for the kids school for the year (what a big check that was).. I took the van in to have it looked after. I asked the mechanic to do the tiing belt, change the oil, check the transmission and look at the steering rack. He said the rack leak and trans leak are very minor and he's not concerned. However, He did note the trans fluid was pretty nasty so he is changing it. He attempted the timing belt and called to say that the front engine mount was frozen with rust. He said he would have to destroy it to do the belt change and said it would add $400. His put was drive the van for a year or two( we drive very little now) and then dump it. He actually suggested to not do the belt. Now, I'm on the fence here. He was sick all week and probably has a backlog of work so he wants to shed some, but at the same time based upon previous experience he generally tells the truth. What do you guys think? Get the belt done, or just limp the van along until I can save up for a good down on another van? I should have a good down payment in 6-12 months (if our stock price stays high) ha.